VISA Extended Warranty on RED Scarlet-X

[Ian B. Johnson]

Here's a portion of the benefits info/faq:


What are these benefits?
Purchase Security
Within the first ninety (90) days of purchase, Purchase Security will, at the Benefit Administrator’s discretion, replace,
repair, or reimburse you for eligible items of personal property purchased entirely with your eligible Visa Business card
up to a maximum of $10,000 per claim and $50,000 per cardholder in the event of theft or damage.

Extended Protection
Extended Protection doubles the time period of the original manufacturer’s written U.S. warranty up to one (1) full year
on warranties of three (3) years or less up to a maximum of $10,000 per claim.

Who is eligible for these benefits?
To be eligible for these benefits, you must be a valid cardholder of an eligible U.S.-issued Visa Business card.

What items are covered by Purchase Security?
Purchase Security protects eligible items of personal property you purchase entirely with your eligible U.S.-issued Visa
Business card

That's perfect. $10,000 per CLAIM, and even includes $50,000 coverage for theft or damage!!!!

 

[Gavin Greenwalt]

I called my Visa and they said you can't convert a personal card to a business card, you must open a new account. FYI.

 

[Prince Bagdasarian]

I just spent a long time on the line with VISA and they WILL cover the Red Scarlet with an additional 1 year warranty after the RED warranty expires (up to $10k per item purchased) if the camera is purchased with a VISA card. One stipulation I believe, is if you are using the camera professionally, the card must be "business enhanced". If you are an enthusiast you can use a personal card.
This is very good news!

Hey Andrew, I think I owe you a thank you for your post/thread. I wouldn't have otherwise thought about calling visa. Good looking out.

 

[Andrew Allsbury]

No problem Prince!

 

[Eric Lange]

This all sounds wonderful of course…

Do you know of anyone that has made a successful claim with Visa for a piece of film/cinematic equipment?

So let’s say the electronics gets fried, or Discovery Channel puts a bullet through your camera or someone drops it on set…

Or in-camera boards fail, RED has to charge $6K + for replacement/repair… what are the procedures for making a claim and does this take forever? Is it like the insurance companies that will do anything to wriggle out of paying up?

I have to admit in the past we have had some pretty substantial accounts with most of the major banks, credit card companies and insurance firms and hand on heart I can’t say I have a particularly good experience with ANY of them for things that were really important/”mission critical”. Basically these institutions are not very happy to hand out what they would consider as “free money”; However their entire reason for existence is to get yours… by whatever means. Until someone smashes up their Scarlet we will not get a real answer to what VISA will really do.

I hear the Wallmart Warranties are pretty amazing i.e. you can trash whatever to your heart’s content and bring in a mangled wreck and they replace it no questions asked (I haven’t/or don’t do this). Problem is you can't buy Scarlet-X at WallMart... (or for the forseeable future).

Have been alive too long to get really enthusiastic about VISA covering my fried Scarlets.

I guess it doesn’t hurt?

Eric

 

[Ian B. Johnson]

...
Have been alive too long to get really enthusiastic about VISA covering my fried Scarlets.

But as you say, isn't every insurance provider the same? Makes sense to me that VISA might not make honoring a claim easy, but they're still as obligated to do so as any other provider.

 

[Louis Maddalena]

Pretty sure AmEx offers a similar service

They do. They will double any warranty on anything you purchase their card up to one year. And for the first 90 days after you buy your item AMEX will cover it for accidental damage, loss, or theft.

 

[Johnny Friday]

They do. They will double any warranty on anything you purchase their card up to one year. And for the first 90 days after you buy your item AMEX will cover it for accidental damage, loss, or theft.

damage/theft up to $1,000 per incident.

 

[Eric Lange]

I have to admit I prefer specialty insurance companies that do understand the particular risks involved.

So for example in the past we had some unusual and specialized equipment, and unique cameras. We had to make sure that everybody that was handling the equipment was actually trained in its use and we had to show that that would be the case up front [special training program had to be devised and booked]. So for example in theory if a camera get dropped and smashed in some cases it depends on WHO dropped the camera.

For example if you are “qualified” you can drop the camera. If the camera was given to someone who was not “trained” then this would be classified as “negligence” on my part and therefore not covered. I know this sounds absurd but that’s how insurance companies “think”.

If there is spate of RED Scarlets that are compensated for then the insurance company reserves the right to not insure that particular piece of equipment.

I guess the main thing to ask is how much work do you lose if your camera is out of action for an extended period of time? The most likely scenario is that your defective camera is diagnosed with X, Y and Z problems by RED, they say it will cost let’s say between $4k-6k to repair. The insurance company (whoever they are) is giving you the run around for months or the time taken to process claims also takes many months. In the mean time you have to buy a new camera and then probably have to shell out later on for the repair of the old defective camera. Probably better to look at options/schemes that can keep you going and in business. If you get on the wrong side of the various alignments and combinations then you may end spending $26K to keep you running with a $10k Scarlet brain. It’s not a problem if you have good operating budget/capital and then you can potentially sell the repaired (newly warrantied unit) at a reduced price.

At some point I hope to receive the information from RED i.e. the fine print as to what exactly is and is not covered by the various warranties.

Compared to many options, what RED offers might indeed be the ticket?

Eric

 

[Louis Maddalena]

damage/theft up to $1,000 per incident.

Maybe this varies from card to card. I asked AMEX about this earlier today and was told I have up to $50k per incident. This is with the Gold card.

 

[Yoav Yerushalmi]

Maybe this varies from card to card. I asked AMEX about this earlier today and was told I have up to $50k per incident. This is with the Gold card.

The regular Amex purchase protection and gold version is $1,000 per incident, up to $50,000 per year. Platinum is up to $10,000. And usually AmEX is VERY nice and helpful.

Visa Signature and 'high end' Mastercards have a $0-$1000 (varies by cards) per incident limit (and $10,000 on business cards), also $50,000 a year.
In similar ways, many also have the 'warranty extension' for a year too.

So yeah, I would definitely check the specifics of your card before assuming it. On the other hand, homeowners insurance usually covers theft too (and for more than 90 days). Look up your plan if it matters.

 

[jimhare]

As I understand it, if you buy the camera with red armour, you would actually have four years of warranty coverage with the added VISA coverage.

I don't think this will work as they will not give you a warranty on the purchase of a warranty.
This would only work if Armour was transparent, and you were buying a Scarlet with a 2 year warranty. Pretty sure that's not the case.

 

[stu aull]

On the other hand, homeowners insurance usually covers theft too (and for more than 90 days). Look up your plan if it matters.

Beware! Many home-owner insurance only covers damage/loss ON THE HOME PROPERTY! My insurance company (State Farm) requires a specific rider that you must itemize pieces, etc to cover beyond the Home. Good news is its pennys-per $hundred.
Also be sure just what the DEDUCTIBLE is.
And is it "replacement value", ie no-depreciation?!

Stu Aull
Alaska

 

[Brian Merlen]

So just to clarify what was said earlier in this thread...the visa personal card extends ONLY the original warranty held on an item, and has nothing to do with separate warranty extension deals offered as additional items by the companies your purchasing from, IE Red Armor, Apple Care additional extension, etc? So with my two examples Visa would cover years one and two on a Red or a Mac, since the original warranties are only a year on these items and visa doesn't deal with the separate extended policies? This is very useful information, thanks for posting guys! just trying to make sure i understand this right. its cool that they cover theft and accidental damage, i would love to know more about exclusions IE liquid damage, etc.

 

[Mike Halper]

What if the credit card is cancelled at some point between the purchase and the needed warranty repair? Is just having the statements enough?

 

[Andrew Allsbury]

Canceling the card doesn't matter as long as 100% of the initial purchase goes on the same VISA card.

 

[Mike Garrick]

For Aussie buyers this appears to be the same. We can purchase the camera on a Visa business card & double the existing warranty. I am going through the process right now of converting my private card to a business card, will post a reply if any problems or fine print related matters. But for Aussie business owners this could be good way to go

 

[Josef Gatti]

For Aussie buyers this appears to be the same. We can purchase the camera on a Visa business card & double the existing warranty. I am going through the process right now of converting my private card to a business card, will post a reply if any problems or fine print related matters. But for Aussie business owners this could be good way to go

Mike, would love to hear how you go with this. I'm currently looking at a Red Armor + insurance. I would be purchasing off my personal Visa anyhow so this would make perfect sense. While on topic, could you recommend any insurance companies that you've delt with for camera gear before? I'm after single item insurance specifically.

Thanks

 

[Álex Montoya]

Does this extended warranty work for Europe too?

I've been trying to contact Visa directly here in Spain but no luck so far. The bank don't have their number and it isn't available online.

 

[Antony M]

Many comments from US VISA card owners.

In the UK, you get the protection so long as *part* of the payment was made on a Visa card.
No need for the whole payment to be made on the card.

However... one caveat. All emails from Red have a bit at the end saying that you are not allowed to disclose the contents to anyone.
And Red got very upset with me when I said I was forwarding the details of my fault.